Ted Kennedy

Infobox Officeholder
name = Edward Moore Kennedy


jr/sr = Senior Senator
state = Massachusetts
term_start = November 6, 1962
alongside = John Kerry
predecessor = Benjamin A. Smith II
successor =
order2 = 16^th United States Senate Majority Whip
term_start2 = January 3, 1969
term_end2 = January 3, 1971
leader2 = Mike Mansfield
predecessor2 = Russell B. Long
successor2 = Robert Byrd
order3 = Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
term_start3 = January 3, 1979
term_end3 = January 3, 1981
predecessor3 = James Eastland
successor3 = Strom Thurmond
order4 = Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resource
term_start4 = January 3, 1987
term_end4 = January 3, 1995
predecessor4 = Orrin Hatch
successor4 = Nancy Landon Kassebaum
order5 = Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
term_start5 = January 3
term_end5 = January 20, 2001
predecessor5 = James Jeffords
successor5 = James Jeffords
term_start6 = June 6, 2001
term_end6 = January 3, 2003
predecessor6 = James Jeffords
successor6 = Judd Gregg
term_start7 = January 4, 2007
term_end7 =
predecessor7 = Mike Enzi
successor7 =
birth_date = birth date and age|mf=yes|1932|2|22
birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts
death_date =
constituency =
party = Democratic
spouse = Joan Bennett Kennedy (1958-1982; divorced) Victoria Reggie Kennedy (since 1992)
children = Kara Anne Kennedy Edward Kennedy, Jr. Patrick J. Kennedy
profession = Politician, lawyer
alma_mater = Harvard University (1956) University of Virginia School of Law (1959)
net worth = $43–162 million (USD)cite web |title=Ted Kennedy's Personal Finances |publisher=opensecrets.org |date=2006 |url=http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/CIDsummary.php?CID=N00000308&year=2006]
religion = Roman Catholic
website = [http://kennedy.senate.gov/ kennedy.senate.gov]


residence = Hyannis Port, Massachusetts
branch = United States Army
serviceyears = 1951-1953

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (born February 22, 1932) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. In office since November 1962, Kennedy is the second most senior member of the Senate, after President "pro tempore" of the United States Senate Robert Byrd of West Virginia.cite web |title=Senator Kennedy's Bio |url=http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/index.cfm |publisher=United States Senate |accessdate=2008-05-23] [cite web |url=http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/chronlist.pdf |title=SENATORS OF THE UNITED STATES |accessdate=2008-05-20 |publisher=Senate Historical Office] Due to his long history of public service, he has become well known by his nickname, "The Lion of the Senate". The most prominent living member of the Kennedy family, he is the youngest brother of the former President John F. Kennedy and the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy. Kennedy is also the sole surviving son of Joseph Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and one of three of their surviving children (along with Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Jean Kennedy Smith).

Ted Kennedy is a staunch advocate of liberal principles and is one of the most influential and enduring icons of his party.

On May 20, 2008, doctors announced that Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor, diagnosed after he experienced a seizure at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, Massachusetts the previous weekend. [cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/20/kennedy.tumor/index.html |title=Doctors: Ted Kennedy has brain tumor |date=2008-05-20 |accessdate=2008-05-20 |publisher=CNN] On June 2, 2008, Kennedy underwent brain surgery at Duke University Hospital.cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/06/02/2008-06-02_sen_edward_kennedy_undergoes_surgery_for.html |publisher=New York Daily News |title=Sen. Edward Kennedy undergoes surgery for brain tumor |accessdate=2008-06-04 |date=2008-06-03]

Childhood and youth

Kennedy is the youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, both members of prominent Irish families in Boston. He attended the Fessenden School, and later Milton Academy and entered Harvard College in 1950, where he resided in Winthrop House. Kennedy was also a member of the Owl Club. In May 1951, he was suspended from Harvard for at least a year for having a friend who was knowledgeable on the subject write his Spanish examination.cite web |accessdate= |url=http://tafkac.org/collegiate/harvard_legends.html
title=Harvard Legends from ""The First Abridged Dictionary of Harvard Myths" |author=Mann, Elizabeth |work=The Harvard Independent |date=December 9, 1993 |pages=pp. 10-11. |publisher=published in "The AFU and Urban Legend Archive"ndash Collegiate] Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army for two years and was assigned to the SHAPE headquarters in Paris. He eventually re-entered Harvard, graduating in 1956. In the 1955 Harvard-Yale football game, which Yale won 21–7, Kennedy caught Harvard's only touchdown pass. Kennedy's promise on the football field had caught the notice of Green Bay Packers Head Coach Lisle Blackbourn. "You have been very highly recommended to us by a number of coaches in your area and also by our talent scouts as a possible Pro Prospect," Blackbourn wrote to the young Right End. Kennedy declined the offer, saying he was flattered, but that he had plans to attend law school and to 'go into another contact sport, politics.' [http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/index.cfm#packer] In 1958, he attended the Hague Academy of International Law.

He earned his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he was the winner of the William Minor Lile Moot Court Competition,cite journal |author=McCarten, Tim |title=UVA Law's 7 Senators |journal=Virginia Law Weekly |date=September 8, 2006 |volume=59 |issue=2 |url=http://www.lawweekly.org/?module=displaystory&story_id=1252&edition_id=38&format=html |accessdate=] and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1959.cite web |accessdate=2008-05-20 |url=http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2006_spr/pubservice.htm
title=Sen. Ted Kennedy to Keynote Public Service Conference |date=March 1, 2006 |publisher=University of Virginia School of Law] While he was in law school, he managed his brother John's 1958 Senate re-election campaign.

Marriages and family

Kennedy's home is in Hyannis, Massachusetts, where he lives with his second wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, a Washington lawyer and the daughter of Louisiana judge Edmund Reggie, and her children from a previous marriage, Curran and Caroline. Victoria is president and co-founder of Common Sense about Kids and Guns, [cite web |accessdate= |url=http://www.kidsandguns.org/familyroom/bios.asp |publisher=Common Sense About Kids and Guns |title=Victoria Reggie Kennedy Bio] an advocacy group that seeks to reduce gun deaths and injuries to children in the United States.

His first marriage was to Virginia Joan Bennett, whom he met while delivering a speech at Manhattanville College and married on November 29, 1958, in Bronxville, New York. The marriage was rumored to be troubled by Kennedy's womanizing and Joan's alcoholism.Fact|date=August 2008 They divorced in 1982. Their children together are Kara Anne (born February 27, 1960), Edward Jr. (born September 26, 1961), and Patrick (born July 14, 1967). Kara married Michael Allen on September 9, 1990, in Centerville, Massachusetts. They have two children: Grace Kennedy Allen (born September 19, 1994, in Washington, D.C.), and Max Greathouse Allen (born December 20, 1996, in Rockville, Maryland). Edward Jr. and his wife, Dr. Katherine (Kiki) Gershman, have two children, Kiley Elizabeth (born August 7, 1994) and Edward Moore Kennedy, III, (born February 25, 1998). After his brothers John and Robert were assassinated in 1963 and 1968 respectively, Ted Kennedy also took on the role of surrogate father for his brothers' 13 children.cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9907/24/kennedy.plane.01/ |accessdate=2006-12-26 |author=Black, Chris et al. |title=Final memorial set for victims of Kennedy crash |work=CNN News |date=July 24, 1999]

Senate career

In 1960, John Kennedy was elected President of the United States and vacated his Massachusetts Senate seat. Ted would not be eligible to fill his brother's vacant Senate seat until February 22, 1962, when he would turn thirty. Therefore the President-elect asked Massachusetts Governor Foster Furcolo to name a Kennedy family friend Benjamin A. Smith II to fill out John's term (under the authority of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, and state law). This kept the seat open for Ted.cite news |title=eddy & Kennedyism |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,940066,00.html |date=1962-09-28 |accessdate=2008-05-23] In 1962, Kennedy was elected to the Senate from Massachusetts in a special election. He was elected to a full six-year term in 1964 and was reelected in 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000 and 2006.

Kennedy is the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. He also serves on the Judiciary Committee, and the Armed Services Committee. He is also a member of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, a founder of the Congressional Friends of Ireland and a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

His brother, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963, the year after Ted was first elected to the Senate. The next year, 1964, Kennedy was in a plane crash in which the pilot and Edward Moss, one of Kennedy's aides, were killed.cite web |title=John F. Kennedy Jr. - Timeline: Misfortunes of a Family |url=http://www.cnn.com/interactive/specials/9907/kennedy.tragedy.glance/frameset.exclude.html |publisher=CNN |date=July 1999 |accessdate=2008-05-23] He was pulled from the wreckage by fellow senator Birch E. Bayh II (D-Ind.) and spent weeks in a hospital recovering from a severe back injury, a punctured lung, broken ribs and internal bleeding. He has suffered chronic pain since the event. [cite news |title=Teddy's Ordeal |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,898150,00.html |work=Time |date=1964-06-26 |accessdate=2008-05-23] [ [http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Kennedy-N344S.htm Check-Six.com - The 1964 Crash of Ted Kennedy's Plane] ]

In 1968, his last surviving brother, Robert, was assassinated during his bid to be nominated as the Democratic candidate for the presidency. Ted Kennedy delivered a eulogy at Robert's funeral. [cite news |title=Ted Kennedy has malignant brain tumour, tests show |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080520/kennedy_tumour_080520/20080520?hub=World |publisher=CTV.ca |date=2008-05-20 |accessdate=2008-05-23] The 1993 book "The Last Brother" by Joe McGinniss portrayed Kennedy as particularly devastated by the death of Robert, as Ted was closer to Robert than to any other member of the Kennedy family. [cite web |last=Ferguson |first=Andrew |title=His brothers' last keeper |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n17_v45/ai_14293039 |work=National Review |publisher=FindArticles.com |date=1993-09-06 |accessdate=2008-05-23] In January 1969, Kennedy defeated Louisiana Senator Russell B. Long to become Senate Majority Whip. [cite news |title=The Ascent of Ted Kennedy |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,839703,00.html |work=Time |date=1969-01-10 |accessdate=2008-05-23] He would serve as Whip until January 1971, when he was defeated by Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia. [cite web |last=Nolan |first=Martin F. |title=Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography - Review |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_12_31/ai_58170293/print |work=Washington Monthly |publisher=FindArticles.com |date=December 1999 |accessdate=2008-05-23]

Chappaquiddick incident

The Chappaquiddick incident refers to the circumstances surrounding the 1969 death of Mary Jo Kopechne, a former staff member in Senator Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. Edward Kennedy was driving a car with Kopechne as his passenger when the Senator drove off Dike Bridge into the channel between Chappaquiddick Island and Martha's Vineyard. The Senator swam to safety, but Kopechne died in the car. Kennedy left the scene and did not call authorities until after Kopechne's body was discovered the following day. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was sentenced to two months in jail, suspended.

In January 1970, an inquest into Kopechne's death took place in Edgartown. At the request of Kennedy's lawyers, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered the inquest be conducted in secret. [Trotta, p. 184.] Bly, p. 213.] Judge James A. Boyle presided over the inquest. His conclusions were as follows:

* "Kopechne and Kennedy did not intend to return to Edgartown" at the time they left the party.
* "Kennedy did not intend to drive to the ferry slip".
* " [Kennedy] 's turn onto Dike Road was intentional".Judge Boyle also said that "negligent driving appears to have contributed to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne".

Under Massachusetts law, Boyle could have ordered Kennedy's arrest, but he chose not to do so. District Attorney Dinis chose not to pursue Kennedy for manslaughter.

Presidential bid

Kennedy deflected supporters who urged him to run for President in 1972 and 1976 by citing family concerns, in light of his brothers' assassinations. He finally threw his hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination in the 1980 presidential election by launching an unusual, insurgent campaign against the incumbent president, Jimmy Carter, a member of his own party. Despite much early support, his bid was ultimately unsuccessful. Carter was highly unpopular at the time of Kennedy's announcement,Fact|date=June 2008 and Kennedy could have expected to do well against him, but the Iran hostage crisis gave President Carter a large boost in the polls that lasted for several months. The upswing in Carter's popularity knocked the wind out of Kennedy's candidacy, which was predicated on dislodging an unpopular president. In addition, the Chappaquiddick incident still dogged Kennedy, and his opponents often invoked the highly recognizable melody of Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 hit song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" to remind voters of the tragedy and scandal.Fact|date=August 2008

Kennedy's campaign received substantial negative press from what pundits criticized as a rambling response to the question "Why do you want to be President?" during an interview with Roger Mudd of CBS News in 1979. [ [http://www.q-and-a.org/transcript/?programid=1174] , C-SPAN/Brian Lamb April 6, 2008.] Kennedy won 10 presidential primaries against Carter, who won 24. Eventually, he bowed out of the race, but delivered a well-received speech before the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City. [ [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/tedkennedy1980dnc.htm Ted Kennedy: 1980 Democratic National Convention Address] ]

Presidential endorsements

While Kennedy himself did not run for President again, his endorsements for other candidates are commonly viewed as very important. In 1988, he supported the successful bid of Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis to win the nomination. [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=200 Our Campaigns - Candidate - Edward "Ted" Kennedy] ] Four years later, in 1992, he initially backed former fellow Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas, who lost to Bill Clinton. In 2000, Kennedy supported Vice President Al Gore against former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley. In 2004, he backed fellow Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who won the nomination but lost to incumbent George W. Bush. In the 2008 election, Kennedy is supporting Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

Committee assignments

*Committee on Armed Services
**Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
**Subcommittee on Personnel
**Subcommittee on Sea Power (Chairman)
*Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Chairman)
**As chairman of the full committee, Sen. Kennedy is an "ex officio" member of all subcommittees.
*Committee on the Judiciary
**Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
**Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law
**Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
**Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship (Chairman)
**Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
*Joint Economic Committee

Brain cancer

On May 17, 2008, seven months after having surgery to clear a blocked left carotid artery, Kennedy was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital from the Kennedy Compound after feeling ill and consulting with his physician, and then was subsequently transferred by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. [cite news |url=http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080517/NEWS/80517001 |title=Sen. Kennedy suffers seizure; hospitalized in Boston |work=Cape Cod Times |date=2008-05-17] According to multiple sources, Kennedy was suffering from symptoms of a stroke. [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7406527.stm |title=Edward Kennedy taken to hospital |work=BBC News |date=2008-05-18] It was later reported that Kennedy had suffered two seizures, one initially at his Hyannis Port home and another in a helicopter en route to Massachusetts General Hospital from Cape Cod Hospital. [cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/05/ted_kennedy_sai.html |title=Ted Kennedy not in immediate danger; seizure cause sought |work=The Boston Globe |first=Peter |last=Schworm |coauthors=Viser, Matt |date=2008-05-17 ]

On May 20, doctors announced that Kennedy has a malignant glioma, a type of cancerous brain tumor. [cite news |url=http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/congress/19102119.html |title=Doctors say Sen. Edward Kennedy has a brain tumor, a condition discovered after seizure |work=Associated Press |publisher="Star Tribune" |author=Johnson, Glen |date=2008-05-20 |accessdate=2008-05-20] The treatment for this condition is often surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, but this will depend on the type, location and degree of malignancy. Kennedy's own doctors have not publicly released a prognosis, but experts report that the median survival time for patients with this condition is 15 months. [cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-sci-medical21-2008may21,0,514066.story |title=Kennedy's tumor prognosis is weakened by age |accessdate=2008-05-22 |date=2008-05-21 |work=Los Angeles Times |author=Thomas H. Maugh II] Kennedy left the hospital and returned to Cape Cod on May 21. Doctors said that he had "recovered remarkably quickly" from the biopsy in which the tumor was found and that he was waiting for additional test results as well as treatment plans. [Pam Belluck and Anahad O'Connor, [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/us/22Kennedy.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin "Kennedy Leaves Hospital in Boston"] , "The New York Times", May 22, 2008.]

On June 2, 2008, Kennedy underwent brain surgery at Duke University Hospital in an attempt to remove as much of the brain tumor as possible.Matt Viser and Michael Levenson, [http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/06/sen_kennedy_to.html "Kennedy's brain tumor surgery deemed a success"] , Boston.com, June 2, 2008.] Michelle Fay Cortez, [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aM7kTi777dTo&refer=us "Kennedy's Brain Surgery Can Reduce, Not Cure, Tumor (Update1)"] , Bloomberg.com, June 2, 2008.] Surgery was considered the most aggressive route possible in treating the tumor; his doctors had not previously mentioned the possibility of surgery to the public. The surgery, conducted by Dr. Allan Friedman, lasted for about three and a half hours, and according to Friedman, it was successful in its goals. Friedman said that the surgery was performed on Kennedy while he was awake and that he did not expect Kennedy to suffer any permanent neurological effects from the surgery. Kennedy planned to spend a brief period recuperating from the surgery before beginning chemotherapy and radiation treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. He left the hospital at Duke on June 9, returning to Cape Cod. [ [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/09/kennedy/index.html?iref=mpstoryview "Kennedy released from hospital"] , CNN, June 9, 2008.]

Opinions vary regarding Kennedy's prognosis. The surgery can extend survival time but only by a matter of months. John H. Sampson, a neurosurgeon who worked with Friedman, stated: "It almost certainly won't be curative, but it should enhance the chances that additional treatment will be effective." Others noted that some people with similar tumors have survived for years. [cite web |url=http://www.spokesmanreview.com/nation_world/story.asp?ID=247458 |publisher=spokesmanreview.com |title=Kennedy undergoes brain surgery]

Though ill, Senator Kennedy attended the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August 2008, where a video tribute to Kennedy was played. Introduced by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, he delivered a speech to the delegates [http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/25/ted.kennedy/index.html] in which, reminiscent of his speech at the 1980 Democratic National Convention, he said, "this November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans. So, with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on." [http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/25/kennedy-speaks-at-the-democratic-convention/]

On September 26, 2008, Kennedy suffered a mild seizure while at his home in Hyannis Port, for which he was examined and released from hospital on the same day. Doctors believe that a change in his medication triggered the seizure.cite news |accessdate=2008-09-26 |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE48P8YL20080927 |title=U.S. Sen. Kennedy released from hospital |date=September 26, 2008 |publisher=Reuters]

Democratic Party icon

Since his presidential bid, Kennedy has become one of the most recognizable and influential members of the party, and is sometimes called a "Democratic icon". [citation |last=Chaddock |first=Gail Russell |title=Democratic primary: Quiet battle for the other delegates |newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor |year=2008 |date=January 30, 2008 |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0130/p01s03-uspo.html] In April 2006, Kennedy was selected by "Time" as one of "America's 10 Best Senators"; the magazine noted that he had "amassed a titanic record of legislation affecting the lives of virtually every man, woman and child in the country" and that "by the late 1990s, the liberal icon had become such a prodigious cross-aisle dealer that Republican leaders began pressuring party colleagues not to sponsor bills with him". [ [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1183965,00.html Ted Kennedy: The Dogged Achiever] , "Time", April 14, 2006. Accessed online May 6, 2007.]

In 2004, Kennedy was involved in the failed presidential bid of his fellow Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, speaking for Kerry multiple times and lending his chief of staff, Mary Beth Cahill, to the Kerry campaign. Kennedy stated that he would have supported Kerry should he have chosen to run for president in 2008. On January 28, 2008, Kennedy endorsed Senator Barack Obama in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 2006, Kennedy released a children's book "". [ [http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/01/09/kennedy-book.html Ted Kennedy pens children's book] , Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, January 9, 2006. Accessed online December 26, 2006.] Also in 2006, Kennedy released a political history entitled "America Back on Track." [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5353270 "Sen. Ted Kennedy and 'America Back on Track'"] , NPR, April 20, 2006. Accessed online February 22, 2007.]

As of 2008, Kennedy is the second-longest serving current senator, trailing only Robert Byrd. Kennedy won an eighth full (and ninth overall) term in 2006. If he serves out his full six-year current term, he will have served in the U.S. Senate for 50 years. Currently, he is the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Political positions

Abortion

Although he has been a staunch pro-choice advocate for the past 30 years, Kennedy adopted this position only after the "Roe v. Wade" decision in 1973. Prior to that, he held a pro-life position. A letter to a constituent, dated August 3, 1971, opposes "the legalization of abortion on demand" saying, "While the deep concern of a woman bearing an unwanted child merits consideration and sympathy, it is my personal feeling that the legalization of abortion on demand is not in accordance with the value which our civilization places on human life. Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognizedndash the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old." [ [http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45591 A Tale of Two Teddies: Pro-choice Kennedy was pro-life in 1971] , World NetDaily, August 3, 2005. Accessed online December 26, 2006.] Kennedy's reversal on this issue after "Roe v. Wade" became a source of continuing dispute between him and the Catholic Church, of which he is a member.

In 1987, Kennedy delivered an impassioned speech condemning Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork as a "right-wing extremist" and warning that "Robert Bork's America" would be one marked by back alley abortions and other backward practices. Kennedy's strong opposition to Bork's nomination was important to the Senate's rejection of Bork's candidacy. In recent years, he has argued that much of the debate over abortion is a false dichotomy. Speaking at the National Press Club in 2005, he remarked, "Surely, we can all agree that abortion should be rare, and that we should do all we can to help women avoid the need to face that decision." [Dionne, E.J. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8098-2005Jan13.html "The New Liberalism: Democrats Need to Show Their Family Values"] , "Washington Post", January 14, 2005, page A19.] He voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. [cite web|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Ted_Kennedy.htm|title=Ted Kennedy on the Issues|accessdate=2008-05-20|publisher=OnTheIssues.org]

Immigration policy

Kennedy was a strong supporter of the 1965 Hart-Celler Actndash signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnsonndash which dramatically changed U.S. immigration policy. [ [http://www.cis.org/articles/1995/back395.html Three Decades of Mass Immigration: The Legacy of the 1965 Immigration Act] , Center for Immigration Studies, September 1995. Accessed online December 26, 2006.] "The bill will not flood our cities with immigrants. It will not upset the ethnic mix of our society. It will not relax the standards of admission. It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs." [U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization of the Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, D.C., February 10, 1965, pp. 1–3.] Kennedy is now the chairman of the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship, and remains a strong advocate for immigrants.

This legislation replaced the Immigration Act of 1924, which favored immigrants from northern and western Europe. Proponents of the 1965 bill argued that immigration laws and quotas were discriminatory, and that American immigration policy should accept people not on the basis of their nationality. This also abolished the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Kennedy subsequently took a lead role in several other would-be immigration measures, including the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act (S. 1033) ("McCain-Kennedy") in 2005 and the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007, a bipartisan measure worked out with President George W. Bush which ultimately failed on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Among other reforms, the 1033 legislation proposed allowing "undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to come out of the shadows, submit to background checks, and register for a legal status. Immigrants and their families would have six years to earn permanent residence and ultimately citizenship." [cite web |url=http://www.tedkennedy.com/journal/724/fighting-for-real-immigration-reform |title=Fighting for Real Immigration Reform |accessdate=2008-01-31]

Gun control

Kennedy has been a staunch supporter of gun control initiatives. In 2006, he was one of the 16 senators who voted against the Vitter Amendment prohibiting the confiscation of legally-possessed firearms during a disaster.

Energy policy

Kennedy has generally favored alternative energy sources and opposed additional Alaska oil drilling. However, he opposes the Cape Wind wind turbine project which would occur near his home. [ [http://www.issues2000.org/International/Ted_Kennedy_Energy_+_Oil.htm Ted Kennedy on Energy & Oil] , On the Issues (issues2000.org). Accessed online December 26, 2006.] [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032500933.html Bending with the Wind] ]

War on Terrorism

Kennedy was a supporter of the American-led 2001 overthrow of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Kennedy joined other Democratic leaders in the Senate to write letters to Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2007, urging him to take up legislation that would block the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. Among authors of other letters to Reid on this subject were Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, Russ Feingold and Barbara Boxer. [Thomas, Will. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/12/08-dems-pressure-reid-ov_n_76508.html '08 Dems Pressure Reid Over Wiretap Law.] "HuffingPost.com," Dec. 12, 2007. Accessed 6-14-2008.]

War in Iraq

Kennedy has been a vocal critic of the American-led 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. He has also been a harsh critic of the way the invasion of Iraq was planned and conducted by the Bush administration. Kennedy also has said that the best vote he had ever cast in the Senate was his vote against giving President Bush the authority to use force against Iraq. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/09/democrats.iraq.funding/index.html Kennedy fights 'immense new mistake' of troop surge - CNN.com ] ]

On September 27, 2004, Kennedy made a speech on the Senate floor regarding the war in Iraq, just prior to the 2004 U.S. Presidential election. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20041017024332/kennedy.senate.gov/index_low.html Senator Kennedy delivers a speech at GW University: The Effect of the War in Iraq On America's Security] . Originally on the home page of kennedy.senate.gov, archived on the Internet Archive January 17, 2006.] Wikisourcepar|Senator Edward M. Kennedy floor remarks on Iraq

In early 2007, preceding Bush's announcement that he would initiate a troop surge in Iraq, Kennedy made a speech at the National Press Club opposing it. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCAulj5Pmzw Sen. Ted Kennedy at the National Press Club] , YouTube.com, January 9, 2007. Accessed online February 22, 2007.] Kennedy was the first Senator in the 110th Congress to propose legislation opposing the troop surge.

No Child Left Behind

Kennedy was a leading member of the bipartisan team that wrote the controversial No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. According to both Kennedy and President Bush, the Act was a compromise. Kennedy then worked on its passage through a Republican-controlled Congress, despite opposition from members of both parties.

Northern Ireland

Kennedy has been outspoken in his views about Northern Ireland's constitutional question. In October 1971, he called for the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland, and for all political participants there to begin talks on creating a United Ireland. [cite web |url=http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/1971-10/1971-10-20-ABC-17.html |title=Northern Ireland Conflict / British Reaction |date=1971-10-20 |accessdate=2008-05-20 |publisher=Vanderbilt University] [cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch71.htm |title=A Chronology of the Conflict - 1971 |accessdate=2008-05-20 |publisher=University of Ulster]

In early 2005, however, Kennedy publicly snubbed Gerry Adams by canceling a previously-arranged meeting, citing the Provisional IRA's "ongoing criminal activity and contempt for the rule of law." This decision was a direct result of the Northern Bank robbery in December 2004 and the murder of Robert McCartney the following month. [cite news |first=Garry |last=Kelly |title=Senator Kennedy snubs Adams as US recoils at IRA crime |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/ulster/article6113.ece |publisher=The Independent |date=2005-03-14 |accessdate=2007-04-23]

Judicial appointments

A longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (and its chairman from 1979 to 1981), Kennedy is an important Democratic voice during debates and confirmation votes on United States Supreme Court nominees. He and Daniel Inouye, also elected in 1962, have voted on more appointments than every other Senator except Robert Byrd.

Kennedy supported nominations of Abe Fortas and Thurgood Marshall (both by President Lyndon B. Johnson). Of Richard Nixon's nominees, he backed successful nominations of Warren Burger (for Chief Justice), Harry Blackmun and Lewis F. Powell. Like most of Democrats he opposed G. Harrold Carswell and Clement Haynsworth (both rejected). He also voted against confirmation of William H. Rehnquist as Associate Justice, although he was easily confirmed. Kennedy supported Gerald Ford's nomination of John Paul Stevens, who was confirmed unanimously. Of Ronald Reagan's appointees, he supported Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy (confirmed), but was one of the leaders of opposition against the nomination of Robert Bork. Within 45 minutes of Bork's nomination to the Court he took to the Senate floor with a strong condemnation of Bork in a nationally televised speech, declaring, "Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of government." [ [http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0707/p02s01-uspo.html Court nominees will trigger rapid response | csmonitor.com ] ] . Bork's nomination was rejected, and Kennedy was credited with leading Democratic opposition. Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, though, said that Kennedy's speech was "technically accurate but unfair” and said that it “drew lines in ways that were starker than reality”. [cite web|url=http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_5585&pageNum=14|title=A Sober Look At Ted Kennedy|accessdate=2008-05-20] Kennedy also opposed William Rehnquist's successful nomination to become Chief Justice. [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=200 Our Campaigns - Candidate - Edward "Ted" Kennedy ] ] He opposed both of George H. W. Bush's successful nominations, David Souter and Clarence Thomas,cite web |accessdate= |url=http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=101&session=2&vote=00259 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 101st Congress - 2nd Session |publisher=U.S. Senate] cite web |accessdate= |url=http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=102&session=1&vote=00220 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 102nd Congress - 1st Session |publisher=U.S. Senate] as well, but supported Bill Clinton's nominations of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.cite web |accessdate= |url=http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=1&vote=00232 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 103rd Congress - 1st Session |publisher=U.S. Senate] cite web |accessdate= |url=http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=2&vote=00242 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 103rd Congress - 2nd Session |publisher=U.S. Senate]

Most recently, he strongly opposed the successful nominations of both Chief Justice John G. Robertscite web |accessdate= |url=http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00245 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 1st Session |publisher=U.S. Senate] and Justice Samuel Alito,cite web |accessdate= |url=http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00002 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session |publisher=U.S. Senate] both nominated by President George W. Bush.

From 2001 to 2003, Kennedy led a forty-five member all Democrat Senate filibuster to block the appointment of former assistant Solicitor General Miguel Estrada to the United States court of appeals. When Estrada withdrew his nomination, Kennedy proclaimed it was a "a victory for the Constitution." [cite news |accessdate= |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/04/estrada.withdraws/ |publisher=CNN.com |title=Estrada withdraws as judicial nominee |publisher=September 4, 2003]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual issues

Kennedy is considered to be one of the biggest advocates of LGBT rights in the U.S. Senate, [ [http://www.sovo.com/2008/5-30/news/national/8624.cfm No ‘heir apparent’ to Kennedy on gay issues in Congress - Southern Voice Atlanta ] ] [cite news |accessdate= |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/09/us/politics/09romney.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1213128572-1X2/INTUTDUQeRYKCCP9yw&oref=slogin |title=Romney’s Gay Rights Stance Draws Ire |author=Nagourney, Adam and David D. Kirkpatrick |work=New York Times |date=December 9, 2006] [cite web |accessdate= |url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/20/175029/021/540/519165 |work=Daily Kos |title=A tribute to Ted Kennedy's decades of work on gay rights |date=May 20, 2008] and he has received ratings of 100 percent by the Human Rights Campaign for the 107th, 108th and 109th sessions of U.S. Congress [cite web |accessate= |url=http://www.hrc.org/documents/HRCscorecard2006.pdf |format=PDF |title=Measuring Support for Equality in the 109th Congress |work=Congressional Scorecard |publisher=Human Rights Campaign] indicating that he voted in support of issues the HRC considers important with regards to equality for LGBT persons. He is a supporter of same-sex marriage [cite press release |accessdate= |url=http://kennedy.senate.gov/newsroom/press_release.cfm?id=ae91c589-f969-43ad-8042-73ddf7b1cc3d |date=May 15, 2008 |title=Kennedy On California Supreme Court Decision |publisher=Senator Ted Kennedy] and was one of the fourteen senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. [cite web |accessdate= |url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=104&session=2&vote=00280 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 104th Congress - 2nd Session |publisher=U.S. Senate] He also voted against the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006. [cite web |accessdate= |url=http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_member.php?cs_id=V3440 |publisher=Project Vote Smart |title=Federal Marriage Amendment Member Vote List] cite web |accessdate= |url=http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00163 |title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session |publisher=United States Senate] Alongside California, Kennedy's home state of Massachusetts is one of the two states that to date (October 2008) have legalized same-sex marriage.

Minimum wage

Kennedy has been a longtime advocate of raising the minimum wage. He helped pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which incrementally raises the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over a two year period. The bill also included some controversial tax cuts for small businesses and higher taxes for many $1 million-plus executives. Kennedy was quoted as saying, "Passing this wage hike represents a small, but necessary step to help lift America's working poor out of the ditches of poverty and onto the road toward economic prosperity". [ [http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-070201minimumwage-story,0,6168715.story Senate votes to raise minimum wage] , Chicago Tribune, February 1, 2007. Accessed online February 22, 2007.]

Environmental record

Kennedy has a strong pro-environment voting record. [ [http://capwiz.com/lcv_stage/bio/keyvotes/?id=297&congress=1102&lvl=C League of Conservation Voters. ] He has voted in favor of disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR, removing oil and gas exploration subsidies, including oil and gas smokestacks in mercury regulations and reducing funds to road building in forest. He has voted against reducing funding to renewable and solar energy projects, requiring ethanol in gasoline, Bush administration energy policy and approving a nuclear waste repository. [ [http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Ted_Kennedy.htm#Environment On the issues:Environment] ] Kennedy has been a critic of the Bush administration’s environmental recordClarifyme|date=August 2008 and has stated "We must not let the administration distort science and rewrite and manipulate scientific reports in other areas. We must not let it turn the Environmental Protection Agency into the Environmental Pollution Agency". [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A4354-2005Jan12?language=printer Washington Post, January 12, 2005] .]

Controversially, he opposed the Cape Wind project, the country's first off-shore wind farm. ManyWho|date=August 2008 accuse Kennedy of NIMBYism. [ [http://www.cleanpowernow.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=314 Clean power now, April 12, 2006] .]

tudent financial aid

Kennedy has opposed federal attempts to cut student financial aid, such as Reagan's 1986 planned limitations on Guaranteed Student Loans to students whose families earned over $32,500 a year, and a planned $4,000 cap on all federal aid and benefits that a student could receive in one year. Following the Republican takeover of Congress in November 1994, there was a renewed effort on the part of key Republican leaders to balance the federal budget by cutting financial aid. The new cuts, which Kennedy also opposed, involved reducing the interest the federal government would pay on student loans, and on Clinton’s direct lending program. Kennedy supported the College Affordability and Access Act of 2007 which provides $20 billion in new federal financial aid investments for low- and middle-income students and their families. [ [http://www.lib.neu.edu/archives/Kennedy/index.htm Senator Kennedy and Student Aid at NU: An Online Exhibit] , Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections, May 2008.]

Health care

Kennedy believes that the health care of individuals should be a fundamental right. [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/119392.php]

Electoral history

References

Further reading

* Gary Allen (1981). "Ted Kennedy: In over His Head", Conservative Pr. ISBN 978-0892450206.
* Nellie Bly. (1996). "The Kennedy Men: Three Generations of Sex, Scandal and Secrets". ISBN 1-57566-106-3.
* Richard E. Burke (1993). "The Senator: My Ten Years With Ted Kennedy". St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-95133-7.
* Adam Clymer (1999). "Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography". Wm. Morrow & Company. ISBN 0-688-14285-0.
* Leo Damore (1988). "Senatorial Privilege: The Chappaquiddick Cover-Up". ISBN 0-89526-564-8.
*Murray Levin (1966). "Kennedy Campaigning: the System and the Style as Practiced By Senator Edward Kennedy". .Beacon Press.
*Murray Levin (1980). "Edward Kennedy: The Myth of Leadership". ISBN 0-395292492.

External links

;Official sites
* [http://kennedy.senate.gov Senate homepage]
* [http://www.tedkennedy.com Campaign homepage]
* [http://www.democraticmajority.com/ Committee for a Democratic Majority] PAC founded by Kennedy to support and expand the Democratic majority in the Senate and House of Representatives

;Kennedy in his own words
* [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ekennedytributetorfk.html Complete text and audio of Ted Kennedy's Eulogy for Robert Kennedy] AmericanRhetoric.com
* [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/tedkennedychappaquiddick.htm Complete text and partial audio of Ted Kennedy's Chappaquiddick Address] AmericanRhetoric.com
* [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/tedkennedy1980dnc.htm Complete text and audio of Ted Kennedy's 1980 DNC Address] AmericanRhetoric.com
* [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/tedkennedytruth&tolerance.htm Complete text and audio of Ted Kennedy's Address at Liberty Baptist University] AmericanRhetoric.com
* [http://www.npr.org/programs/npc/2003/030121.ekennedy.html Webcast of Kennedy at a January 21, 2003 National Press Club event, via NPR] : provides corroboration for his 2006 re-election run
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kennedys/filmmore/ps_1980.html Ted Kennedy's 1980 Democratic National Convention Address]
* [http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/kennedy-george-bushs-vietnam/ Kennedy on Iraq at the National Press Club] : Kennedy on the Iraq War, which he describes as "George Bush's Vietnam"

;Nonpartisan information
* [http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/chappaquiddick.htm FBI FOIA Investigation on Chappaquiddick]
* [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/edward_m_kennedy/index.html New York Timesndash Edward Kennedy News] collected news and commentary
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Edward_M._Kennedy SourceWatch Congresspediandash Edward M. Kennedy] profile

;Other links providing info
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-08-19-kennedy-list_x.htm "Terror List Snag Nearly Grounded Ted Kennedy"] , "USA Today", August 19, 2004
*imdb name|id=0448356

U.S. Senator box
state = Massachusetts
class = 1
before = Benjamin A. Smith II
start = November 6, 1962
alongside = Leverett Saltonstall, Edward Brooke, Paul Tsongas, John Kerrysuccession box
before = John F. Kennedy
title = Democratic Party nominee for United States Senator from Massachusetts (Class 1)
years = 1962, 1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2006
after = "to be determined"
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Persondata
NAME = Kennedy, Edward Moore
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Kennedy, Ted
SHORT DESCRIPTION = American politician; Democratic Senator for Massachusetts
DATE OF BIRTH = February 22, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH = Boston, Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =